1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains generally to the field of apparatus for forming concrete into various shaped products and for handling such products.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Shaped concrete products are typically formed by pouring fluid concrete into an open mold having the form of the desired product, and allowing the concrete to set and harden within the mold. Such molds are generally made to collapse or expand away from the hardened concrete product to allow removal of the product from the mold. The pouring of the fluid concrete into the mold, distribution and tamping of the fluid concrete within the mold, and the removal of the hardened product from the mold has generally been a time consuming and expensive process requiring substantial labor. Moreover, a large number of molds must be utilized in order to produce a plurality of finished products at the same time, thus requiring a large investment in molds or resulting in slowed production because of the unavailability of sufficient molds.
A variety of cast concrete products are utilized which are of standardized shapes and are utilized in applications which do not require very high load carrying capabilities. For such applications, various types of quick-setting concrete may be utilized, with such concrete having the characteristic of being relatively stiff in its fluid form and capable of being compacted to a coherent mass which has substantial structural stability. A number of standardized products may be made from such quick-setting concrete, including such products as manhole riser adjustment rings, concrete catch basins and cisterns, and various types of pre-cast concrete block, as well as other, non-standardized products.